“Fortunately, we got a point out of it. We always seem to have this fear, this anxiety once we get near the opposition penalty area,” the Coach told Sky Sport Italia.

“It was a difficult match, we played to win and are ready to win the final game of the season too. It’s an important result to ensure we don’t lose confidence, as we’ve got a decisive trip to Fiorentina coming up and we want to play our football.

“We conceded a goal at the first mistake, then it all became more complicated. Unfortunately, you need to put the ball in the back of the net or none of it counts.”

When Genoa had a last-minute penalty against Roma a couple of weeks ago, Antonio Sanabria insisted on taking it and his awful spot-kick was saved.

This time, Criscito stepped up and coolly converted to give Genoa a potentially decisive point.

“When you wear the captain’s armband, that adds extra responsibility and Criscito handled that with great calm,” noted Prandelli.

“The lads are working hard with great belief, but clearly when incidents don’t go your way, you can gradually lose confidence.”